Week one – done and dusted

Having completed the first week of life in Singapore, it feels like I’ve done loads (learnt as much as I could about the town, visited some of the standard tourist haunts, and found my new local coffee shops) and hardly anything at the same time. Trying to find my feet and work out where everything is and how everything works is a fairly stressful thing, but then when I look back over the week I actually have very little show for it. I suppose the easiest way to summarise it is in picture form (that way you are spared from updates like - I learnt where the supermarket was, and that you can buy Waitrose Essential items in there - yay!), so here you go:

I spent a day investigating the amazing world that is Chinatown - better still, it was the day before their big weekend of New Year celebrations kicked off, so there were some fabulous "Year of the Horse" decorations to enjoy, and a really festive atmosphere too!

The hug horse lantern that will mark the opening of the New Year parade

Some tasteful home decorations that Nick told me I was absolutely not allowed to buy

Flying horses!

Later that same day I also went on a bit of a tour of the city - I wanted to work out where my house was compared to Chinatown, work, the river and some of the main entertainment areas. It turns out that everything is pretty much a 40 minute walk away, if not less.  If it wasn't so darn hot here it would be the perfect sized town to never have to get public transport! 

Temple visits

River residents

The national mascot - the Merlion

Then there was the morning I walked the 15k route around five parks along the eastern edge of the island. I was promised naughty (terrifying) wild monkeys in the parks, who sadly failed to make an appearance, but at least there was a pretty spectacular route to make up for it:

Canopy walks through four parks, connected by bridges

The Henderson Waves - one impressive bridge!

There wasn't only nature and cultural areas to keep me entertained! I tried out the pool at the flat - it was chilly, but one floor down, open air and perfect for laps:

 

Our pool

I had some fabulous solo lunches out on our cute little balcony in the glorious sunshine (I like to think of it as part of my acclimatising routine):

Best seat in the house 


On the days when the rest of the world weren't at work, there were dinner parties, lunch gatherings and even a cheeky little champagne brunch at a fabulous tapas place:

Tapas and bubbles - a real Sunday treat

I was brave and (with a little encouragement) tried many of the local specialty dishes, including chicken and rice - it's a lot of food, and it costs less than two pounds for the lot - bargain!

For less than a couple of pounds, your money goes a long way on the hawker stalls! 

I realise that this blog entry is a bit of a cheat, but from now on I promise I will be much better at actually updating you on what I've been doing...well, once I'm back from a week of holiday in Thailand I will. The next entry on here is likely to be in a similar grouped format. Hopefully with even more amazing photos though!

I've arrived!

After arriving at Heathrow a good healthy four hours or so before my flight was due to take off (Team Porter does love to be on time / slightly early you know – I blame dad!), I managed to waste a good few hours working through a couple of essential airport routines – I did a magazine run at WHSmiths, I topped up on emergency plane snacks and ear-popping sweets, I had a huge and entirely unnecessary dinner at Giraffe and then I had a calming gin at the airport bar.

            By this point I had just about managed to persuade myself that there’s no need to cry when your family drops you at the airport, and that when it doubt, gin really does help. Every single time! Finally it was time to fly!

            For some unknown reason my plane was fairly empty, so not only did I get to enjoy the pure comfort of a BA Economy Plus seat (so worth the extra pennies!) I also got the pleasure of an empty seat next to me, which means extra legroom and no fights for the armrest. All in all, it was a pretty good flight – you just have to ignore the fact that it lasted for a tedious 13 hours.

            Rushing through all the gory details – I’ve arrived. The flight was empty, the arrivals hall was totally manageable, Nick was waiting and ready to pick me up as soon as I came through the gates, and I am now sitting in ‘our’ flat, drinking gin on the balcony and about to have a shower ready to start my live in the hot humidity of Singapore. I can’t wait – for the shower that is. The fresh start is exciting too, but at the moment I just want to wash the horrible airplane filth off!

It's go time!

Bags are packed, my room is set straight and my Kindle is charged – it’s go time! I will be leaving for the airport in the next few hours, and I will be touching down in Singapore in less than 24 hours from now.

            Blog updates will (hopefully) be coming thick and fast as the adventures begin, but for now there will be radio silence while I leave one world and get myself set up in another. Wish me luck!

One week to go!

It’s my last day at work in London today, which means that it is also the last day I will have easy access to a printer, scanner and fax machine (as if that really makes much of a difference), so it’s incredibly handy and insanely convenient that my work pass application was approved today!

            This means that I can arrive in Singapore and get my visa sorted out immediately, my boxes can be shipped asap (so that I don’t have to force one of the girls to sort them out for me once I’ve already gone) and my new job is now 100% official, as it was always entirely dependent on me being able to secure this pass – they sponsor it for me, but that doesn’t mean that it’s guaranteed.
             All the tricky planning and prepartion is done and dusted, now all I have to do is actually face the tears and the fears and make the move…one week today and I will be landing in Singapore, the land of sun, humidity, rooftop bars and constant heat. I’m writing this with a grey sky dawning, soaking wet, freezing cold feet and a lot of London smog outside the window, I think I am going to be ok!

Two weeks to go and progress is being made!

It’s been a long time coming, but my flight to Singapore is now just two weeks away, and I’ve finally made it through each and every round of interview (after five months of background work), and have received a written offer letter! Thank goodness for that!

            This means that, all going well, and assuming that the Singaporean government agrees to sign off my work pass, I will be moving over with a work permit sorted, a job ready to join and a planned training session over in San Fran too (this is the company with London and US offices which is going to be incredibly handy for visiting the family).

            It’s tough to think that in a couple of weeks I will have left my current job and will no longer be responsible for everything I’ve been working so hard to build for the past few years, but hey, I get to start again at the beginning, and whilst that might be slightly stressful, I really hope it will be worth it!

            Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that the work pass gets approved fairly quickly – I need it sorted to be able to ship my boxes too, so hopefully it will be done and dusted before I move out of the London house! 

Three weeks to go!

Three weeks left – that’s it! In three weeks today I will be packing up the car, hugging the family and boarding a plane (probably in floods of tears and a slghtly drunken haze due to essential pre-flight gingo tongos) to Singapore. To live. For years!

            When I first made the decision to go on my adventure, there was a good four months of build up before Go-Time. There was time to pretend it was never going to happen and that nothing was going to change. There were millions of weekends to think about what I might want to tick off my list and what I might need to do to prepare for the move. Hell, the move wasn’t until “next year” – I had loads of time to play with!

            Now though, Christmas is gone, the New Year has been marked, celebrated and has started in full-speed. And so it’s happening. Soon. In three weeks to be precise – the big move is coming up, and it’s coming up fast. 

            Putting aside the fear and the sadness (which hasn’t gone away, and I am pretty sure it’s not going to for a while), it’s getting incredibly exciting now!

            The flat is looking beautiful and shiny, awaiting my arrival, and I’ve even signed a contract (with the company I’ve been having discussions with for the past four months) so hopefully a work visa will be with me just in the nick of time! It’s all happening, and it’s all suddenly very real.